Nonshanking golfing iron



y 6 1954 G. F. KLEIN 2,683,036

NONSHANKING comma IRON Filed July 20, 1949 l/v verzfor:

Patented July 6, 1954 UNITED STATES NON SHANKING GOLFING IRON George F. Klein, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Application July 20, 1949, Serial No. 105,832

2 Claims. (01. 273 80) My invention relates to golfing-irons, this application constituting a continuation-in-part of my original application Serial No. 508,890, filed November 4, 1943, now abandoned, and a principal object is to provide golfing irons in varying degrees of loft, by the provision in each, and regardless of loft, of a striking surface the perimeter whereof is entirely uninterrupted by the hosel, the hosel in the case of my irons being eated wholly to the rear of the striking face, and growing out of the rear surface of the head of the iron so as to eliminate altogether the golfing fault known as shanking or socketing.

A further object of my invention is to provide a golfing iron of the character herewithin described wherein the striking surface extends in the plane thereof some little distance upon the heel side of the hosel, the hosel being united with the club head wholly upon the rear thereof in such a way as to provide a heel region of maximum density and impact absorbing depth by virtue of which the ideal striking point on the striking surface of the club will be closer to the produced or imaginary extended longitudinal axis of the hosel than is normally the case.

A further object is to provide a golfing iron wherein elimination of the shanking fault by virtue of the construction described will not' be substituted by undesirable heeling shots,

' through the provision of a heel region which projects uninterruptedly in the plane of the striking surface of the club head upon the heel side 0 the hosel;

A further object is to provide a golfing iron of the character herewithin described which materially facilitates playing out of the rough by virtue of the tendency of the novel projecting heel region to slash off grass just in advance of the passage therethrough of the following hosel, and which grass with conventional iron club designs would tangle with thehosel to the detriment of the stroke being played.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as will become apparent to those-skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a number six club head according to my design with the hosel lying on the picture-plane.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the above identified club head also with the hosel lying on the picture-plane.

Figure 3 is a representation of Fig. 1 viewed from the right-hand end thereof.

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 1 as viewed from the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a cross-section on the line 55 of Figure l.

Figure 6 is a cross-section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1, illustrating the manner in which the head of my club tapers in front-to-back thickness towards the toe thereof in contrast to conventional clubs which are usually of uniform thickness but sometimes thicker at the toe than at the heel.

In the drawings like characters of reference I indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

My non-shanking golfing iron, of which the accompanying drawings depict one of a loft approximately equal to that of a number six club, consists of a head collectively designated I and a hosel 2. The hosel, it will be observed, rises out. of, or alternativel may be said to grow into the rear side collectively designated 3 of my club head 1. Further, it should be particularly observed that the hosel unites with the club head wholly upon the aforesaid rear side.

It will be observed moreover that by the foregoing construction I am able to provide a striking surface 4 which is uninterrupted at any point upon the perimeter 5 thereof, and is planar right up to and including the perimeter B of the heel region 1. This heel region, it is to be understood, includes the face surface portion of a heel piece 1 which projects on the heel side of the hosel axis 8, and lies clear beyond the produced boundary 8 of the unattached major portion of the length of the hosel 2. By reference particularly to Figure 1, it will be observed that an axial plane coincident with the said hosel axis 8, and extending at right angles to the picture-plane intersects the striking surface 4 to mark off substantially the heel region 1 and the heelpiece 1'. Furthermore the heel region also lies clear beyond the produced boundary 8 of the unattached major portion of the length of the hosel 2.

The hosel 2 being setback in the manner aforesaid, a land" 9 is provided adjacent to the perimetrical portion ID, and this land continues around the club head in the form of a flange II widening out at the base of the head to provide the sole [2.

The head of my iron or club is of maximum density or thickness at the heel end thereof, specifically in the above described produced plane of axis 8. I therefore call the area about such plane an impact absorbing mass 12. This mass slopes or diminishes in thickness ambiclinally (that is, ambiently and inclinably, or in a hill-shaped manner), from the aforesaid plane of maximum thickness towards both the perimeter 6 and the rear surface area [3 as most clearly revealed in Figures 2 and 5. Thus the surface of my impact absorbing mass I2 actually constitutes a part of the rear side 3. With such a conformation, the ideal point of impact is closer to the produced axis 8 of the hosel than is commonly the case. The result of this disposition is a drive of greater velocity for the expenditure of a given quantum of energy by lessening the dissipation of such energy in twisting moment.

It is to be particularly noted that in providing a golfing iron which overcomes the shanking or socketing fault through the elimination of a hosel projecting from the perimeter of the striking surface in accordance with conventional design, and projecting in advance of the produced striking surface, I have not substituted a liability toward heeling shots as might be the case had I, for example, rolled or curved the heel region of the striking surface rearwardly into the hosel. By contrast, it will clearly be perceived that by extension of the striking surface upon the heel side of the hosel, I have altogether eliminated the possibility of such a substituted form of mis-play.

For purposes of definition, I have elected to refer to the heel region I of the striking surface of my club, in the accompanying claims, as marginally planar in that, as clearly illustrated in Figure 1, the said heel region is fiat and coplanar with the rest of the striking surface 4 '2 clear up to and including the perimeter 6 of the heel piece '1 within said region, the limits whereof I indicate by double-headed arrow 14. I also desire to define the perimeter 5 (including the portion 6) of the striking face of my club head as free, by which I mean that, an instrument such as a stylus or graver could be tracked clear around the perimeter 5, without being intercepted by projecting metal (by which of course I refer particularly to the metal of the hosel or the Web connected thereto, in the conventional designs of iron club). Finally I wish to state that it is desirable that the heel region 1' projects apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A golfing iron comprising the combination of a head having a striking surface and a rear side, with a hosel, said head having a thickened, rearwardly projecting impact absorbing mass the surface of said mass sloping ambiclinally towards the perimeter of the heel-edge of said head, said mass being of greatest thickness near the heel end or said "rear side, said hosel being united with said impact absorbing mass near said heel-end of said rear side and wholly to the rear of said striking surface, thereby preserving an uninterrupted perimeter wholly around said striking surface.

2. A golfing iron comprising the combination of a head having a striking surface including a heel region and a rear side, with a hosel, said head having a thickened, rearwardly projecting impact absorbing mass upon said rear side and at the heel end thereof, said hosel being united with said impact absorbing mass wholly to the rear of said striking surface and near the upper heel end perimeter thereof, a heel piece integral with said head at the heel end thereof, said heel piece projecting upon the heel side of said hosel beyond the produced boundary of the unattached major' part of the length of said hosel, said heel region of said striking surface being co-planar with the major area thereof, said mass diminishing in thickness ambiclinally towards the surrounding edge of said heel piece, said heel reg-ion being marginally planar and lying in advance of said hosel, the perimeter of said heel region being free, said region projecting upon the heel side of said hosel, the distance of such projection being not more than one-fifth of the distance by which said head projects upon the toe side thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name 7 Date 1,250,296 Eitzjohn et al. s Dec. 18, 1917 1,550,501 Byrne Dec. 18, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,623 Great Britain 1904 

